"I deplore the fact that the DPRK has chosen to prioritise this launch over improving the livelihood of its people.

"We will be summoning the DPRK ambassador to the UK to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK will urgently consult partners in the United Nations Security Council on our response to this development.

"It is essential that the DPRK refrain from further provocative action and take constructive steps towards denuclearisation and lasting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."

I strongly condemn the launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

William Hague

The rocket, which North Korea claims has put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labelled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far away as mainland Europe, including Britain, Britain and the United States.

North Korea is banned from developing nuclear and missile-related technology under U.N. resolutions, although Kim Jong-un, the youthful head of state who took power a year ago, is believed to have continued the state's "military first" programmes put in place by his late father, Kim Jong-il.

Kim Jong Un has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy. Its leader hailed the launch as celebrating the prowess of all three members of the Kim family to rule since it was founded in 1948.

A statement from the White House said: "The international community must work in a concerted fashion to send North Korea a clear message that its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions have consequences."

North Korean missile developments have also been linked to shipments in Iran.

Japan said debris from the rocket landed in seas off the Korean peninsula and the Philippines.